


Still, I call it magic, such a precious truth

by Smartinski



Series: The Stories of Ilvermorny [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27462523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smartinski/pseuds/Smartinski
Summary: "What am I supposed to do? It's not gonna work!" Stiles whispers aggressively at Scott."Well, you can't justsitthere and do nothing!" Scott hisses back."I'd much rather sit here and do nothing than set fire to the entirety of thefucking classroom- ""Oh my god, will you two shut up!" Lydia hisses from the left.Both boys jump and stare at her.She has her wand pointed up with red sparks flying from the tip. She's doing the charm and she's not evenlookingat it. He hates her but he's also really besotted with her."Whatever issue that you're having with your wand, Stilinski, the rest of the god-damn class doesn't need to know."A wizarding world AU that literally nobody asked for.
Relationships: Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski
Series: The Stories of Ilvermorny [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006488
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. Prologue (Year 1)

Stiles receives his Ilvermorny acceptance letter on his tenth birthday.

His mother passes away two weeks later.

It was explained to be a ‘freak accident’. That’s what the Magical Congress told Stiles’ father.

He’s confused, Stiles. Confused, alone, drifting. He just cannot get his head around it.

And as much as his father is affected - the empty bottles of whisky that he tries to bury in the trash have not gone unnoticed - Noah tells him to go to Ilvermorny.

It’s what his mother would have wanted. That’s what he told Stiles.

So, six months later (after Scott receives his letter), he and Stiles pack up and jump on a big tall yellow magical bus. It’s uncomfortable, crowded, smelly and Stiles suffers from motion sickness for the whole duration of the two-hour journey. Probably from watching the bus slip through the oncoming traffic, unknown to the No-Maj they pass.

When they make it to Ilvermorny, every bit of worry and stress and sadness erases from Stiles’ mind temporarily. All that clouds his thoughts is a stunned excitement that he hasn’t experienced since the acceptance letter slid through his letterbox.

Hidden by thick grey fog, the castle stands at the top of the hill, the only way up being unkempt paths which are highlighted with floating lanterns that lead up to the top.

It’s as if Stiles has gone back in time, entering what only can be described as a victorian world.

It’s everything that his mother described it to be.

Scott and him are instructed to gather into their correct years and before Stiles knows it, he’s surrounded by small kids with curious and excited eyes just as big as his.

The gentlemen who earlier introduced himself as the groundskeeper (Stiles has already forgotten his name, his mind much too vibrant to be taking anything in) directs them up. It’s tiring, long and dark but before Stiles knows it, he and the rest of the students are staring up at the biggest set of metal gates he has ever seen. The _tallest_.

As if by magic (duh) the gates open and reveal a long driveway. More walking does not warm to Stiles and it’s pretty cold here, but he gets to catch a few glimpses of the school ground here and there. It’s well kept, old fashioned and eerie. Stiles absolutely loves it.

They enter the central hall suddenly after reaching the end of the driveway. Big wooden doors (not as big as the gates, however) allow them entry and Stiles comes to find it’s even more old-fashioned inside.

The doors open onto a circular room topped by a glass cupola with stained windows that allow the sun to shine down and light up four enormous wooden carvings. They are told that the carvings represent each house: the Horned Serpent, the panther Wampus, the Thunderbird and the Pukwudgie.

A wooden balcony runs around the room one floor above, which is holding the current students of the school. It seems like thousands of eyes are staring down at them, whispering, laughing.

They’re instructed to stand along the surrounding walls and one by one, the first years are called forward by alphabetical order.

Stiles hates being one of the last.

The first child steps forward with shaky legs and a pasty expression and stands on the symbol of the Gordian Knot set into the middle of the stone floor.

The students above fall silent and wait patiently.

Stiles’ eyes do not blink and he’s glad.

After a few seconds of silence, the carving of the Wampus moves its head and roars. The sound echoes around the circular room, shocking the first-year students and exciting the current students.

They cheer and holler above for the new member of the Wampus house and the sorting ceremony continues.

Stiles takes note, after ten or fifteen first years are chosen, that each carving reacts differently: If the Horned Serpent wants the student, the crystal set into its forehead will light up. If the Wampus wants the student, it roars. The Thunderbird signifies its approval by beating its wings, and the Pukwudgie will raise its arrow into the air.

Everything his mother explained, it’s all coming to life in front of him. Every detail, every movement is exactly how she said it would be.

The more the carvings react the more Stiles is amazed with the whole process. He nearly misses the next student’s name being called.

As the young girl steps forward after hearing her name, Stiles repeats it under his breath, deciding that ‘Lydia’ rolls off of the tongue quite nicely.

And when she stands on the Gordian Knot, facing the front of the room, Stiles decides that strawberry-blonde is his new favourite colour.

All four carvings react to Lydia.

The room falls completely silent. The teachers look just as shocked as the students.

Stiles holds his breath. His mother told him that this rarely happens. Like, _ever_.

Lydia looks embarrassed and uncomfortable.

After twenty painstakingly long seconds, one teacher tells her that she has a choice of which house she would like to be in.

She chooses the Horned Serpent.

Cheers are reformed and the skin on her face goes back to her normal colour.

Scott is next and Stiles’ heart is beating loudly for his best friend.

He is chosen by the Pukwudgie.

Stiles claps the loudest amongst the applause, annoying the kid next to him. Stiles doesn’t care.

His mind wanders after Scott steps off, wondering how much they will see of each other, what classes they’ll have together. What they’ll do on their lunch break, what they’ll eat for breakfast. Will they be in the same house? Will Scott make new friends and forget about him? Will he and Stiles drift? Or will they become even _more_ inseparable -

Stiles’ name is called.

His skin prickles with embarrassment and nerves are eating him alive as he walks onto the Gordian Knot.

His heart is beating at an alarming rate and he feels as if each carving is staring into his soul, taking it apart piece by piece to assess whether he is worthy to be here or not.

It feels like the decision is taking much longer than the others, but Stiles cannot tell whether this is because his mind has slowed time.

Ah, his mind. It goes into overactive mode - what’s new? - and it almost causes him to miss the crystal in the Horned Serpent’s forehead light up.

The cheers above and around are an echo. Stiles can feel the blood pumping through his head.

He has been chosen. His mind has been favoured.

Stiles joins the rest of the chosen students and he’s happy, content. He stands next to Scott and they giggle quietly and silently perform their handshake and discuss their excitement for the year ahead.

What will they learn? Who will they meet?

Stiles looks up at the students. Some have been here for one year, some for five, some for nine.

He wonders about each experience. How wonders how different it is being here compared to the real world.

So many questions that he wants to be answered, but right now, at this moment, he's simply just... _naive_.

He’s a naive ten-year-old wizard, ready to embark on the journey to the rest of his life.

What could possibly go wrong?


	2. First Day of Fifth-Year

Dumora's Way is a small town in New Orleans that sits next to the Mississippi River. It's no ordinary town; known to only wizards and witches.

It's shielded by magic from the gaze of a No-Maj and it's one of the most popular magical destinations in America. The town has one main street which is jammed-packed from one end to the other with shops, restaurants, pubs, bars and banks. Multiple candy stores, libraries, clothing stores, pet shops...the list goes on.

Anything you need to do with the wizarding world, you can find it here. The options are endless.

So, _why_ \- out of _all_ of the wand stores in this town - did Stiles choose _Beauvais_ to buy his wand from?

He looks at his watch. Taps his foot on the ageing wooden floorboards. Coughs from the lingering dust. Looks at his watch again.

Stiles sighs impatiently before leaning over the counter. "Hey - excuse me? I hate to be that guy but I'm running a little late here."

"Patience, kid. Gotta find the right one for 'ya."

Stiles blinks with frustration before hanging his head. He takes a look at the wands stacked high along the wall in front of him for the sixth time, then turns to lean his back on the counter.

He glances outside where the New Orlean sun shines down on the street that's growing quieter and quieter due to everyone heading for the ferry.

The ferry that Stiles should be on. That leaves in _five_ minutes.

Stiles loses his patience and spins on his heels, slapping a messy beat onto the counter with his hands. "Are you making the wand with your bare hands back there?"

"Got it." The shopkeeper that greeted Stiles forty-fives minutes ago (it feels like longer) reappears with a wand in hand.

Stiles is well aware that the man is more than likely going to go into significant detail about this wand and what it's been through and the type of wood it consists of and that it probably has the power to bring Backstreet Boys back together but Stiles doesn't care right now.

"Before I give this wand to you - "

"Yep, yeah - I know the terms and conditions, the laws, the side-effects - whatever you wanna call it." Stiles interrupts. "How about I just give you the money, pal, and we call this a day?"

After the shop-keeper counts Stiles' dragots painfully slow (and rips him off right in front of his eyes), he grabs his wand and scrambles out of the shop, glancing both ways down the street before darting towards the port.

It's quiet now, not many people around, but Stiles _still_ manages to trip up and stumble into a goblin who was just minding his own business selling his bat soup outside of _Sucre Bleu_.

"Hey, my soup!" The poor fella yells as Stiles barges into him with a thump. The cauldron falls sideways and half the soup spills all over the floor, and as much as Stiles feels extremely guilty, he's sure he sees a tiny eye rolling along the cobbled path and wants to throw up.

"Oh my god - I am _so_ sorry, I really am." Stiles stutters as the poor goblin spouts abuse at him.

He tries to back away whilst simultaneously helping the goblin level the cauldron but he ends up knocking it _again_ and the remainder of the soup spills down his robe.

"Oh, you have gotta be _kidding_ me!" Stiles hisses while the goblin tries to swat him away.

"Stiles!?"

Scott to the rescue.

Stiles looks up and sees his best friend rushing towards him. He's red in the face and seems panicked yet amused by the scene in front of him.

Stiles skips over the absolute carnage he's made on the floor and grabs Scott for dear life before turning to the goblin. "Hey, man, sorry again! That's really my bad - "

"Sweet Mother of Jonker!" The goblin yells aggressively, his finger pointed right at Stiles. "You Dorcus! You - you Scourer!"

"Hey, hey!" Stiles gathers himself and stands straight. "There's no need for that kind of language, is there?"

"Stiles, come on!" Scott exhales, pulling on Stiles' robe.

"You know what, pal?" Stiles points at the goblin.

"Stupid Dorcus! God-damn foolish Jonk - "

"I can guarantee you that the gravel and the soles of dirty feet haven't exactly made that soup taste worse than it already does!"

"Stiles, for god sakes!" Scott yells, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him back. "The ferry!"

Stiles blinks and looks down at the port. Shit.

He allows Scott to pull him back but he won't leave without saying one last thing.

"You're the Dorcus, not me!" He points at the goblin before turning to run with Scott.

"Yeah. That'll show him, Stiles." Scott rolls his eyes.

"Who even makes bat soup anymore, for crying out loud?" Stiles mutters.

"It doesn't matter." Scott grabs Stiles' arm, weaves them through a small crowd that leads them right to the port. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah, for _double_ the price of my old one." Stiles catches his breath, pulling out his new wand. "Did you?"

They turn a corner before they can see the ferry. It's still there.

"They were sold out." Scott replies.

"Scott! What the hell are you gonna do this year without a broom - ?" 

"Stiles, it's leaving! The ferry's leaving!" Scott cries out, speeding up as if it's going to force the ferry to stop.

Stiles gives up before Scott does, coming to a breathless halt while watching the ferry leave the port. Ah _shit_.

He looks around helplessly before spotting a docker. "Hey - excuse me? Do you know when the next ferry is?"

The docker looks up at the disappearing ferry. "Sorry, kid. That's the last one."

"Shit, shit, shit..." Stiles mutters as Scott comes running back.

"Stiles, our cases are on there."

"You can get the train still. They run all day." The docker says before walking away with a helpless shrug.

Huh. They've never taken the train before.

Scott stares at Stiles while scrambling for his inhaler in his robe pocket. "We're gonna be late."

"We're not going to be late. Come on." He begins to walk in the direction of the subway, taking off his robe and tying it around his waist, making sure the Ilvermony logo is covered.

Scott does the same. "Stiles, public transport is famously known for being unreliable. Never _on time_. We're gonna be late."

He leads them down an alleyway. "Leave the transport to me, Scotty. What _you_ should be worrying about is how you're gonna tell Coach that you don't have a broom."

Scott groans. "We're so screwed!"

They reach the end of the alley and approach a wooden door. Stiles opens it and they're both met with the busy streets of New Orleans.

Stiles carries on walking, Scott on his tail. He turns to make sure no one saw them come out and unsurprisingly, no one even noticed.

Luckily, the subway is only a five-minute walk, but _un_ -luckily, they both have no clue how to get to the correct platform.

When they get there, Scott stares blankly at the busy station before blinking at Stiles. "Now what?"

"Just...just wait. Watch people." Stiles sighs, his eyes dancing around the station until something... _magical_ pops out at him.

It takes ten minutes of Scott's sighing and muttering before Stiles spots a woman sneak through the barrier of a tunnel that's clearly not in use.

Stiles nudges Scott. "Follow me."

He does, because it's Scott, and they follow the lady's lead and sneak through the barrier. They watch her head down the tunnel quickly, her heels clicking against the floor. The boys do the same.

The hall bends and twists and they stay behind to not look like a pair of weird stalkers.

Scott sniffs the air. "You stink of soup."

"Great."

The woman stops at a brick wall and turns her head both ways to ensure she's alone. The boys both dart back around the corner before peaking at her.

She doesn't see them.

"Okay, we should go ask her if she can help us - "

"Are you crazy?!" Stiles whispers, shoving an arm in front of Scott. "She could be with MACUSA!"

"Well, how the hell are we gonna get to the platform if we don't ask?" Scott glares at him.

He then peaks his head around and watches the lady. Stiles sighs and does the same.

She's got her wand out and she's whispering something but Stiles can't make it out. He sees Scott attempt to stretch a little more.

Next thing they know, the bricks on the wall begin to twist outwards and create a hole. The lady walks through and vanishes before the bricks move back into their original place.

"Did you get any of that?" Stiles whispers as they both step out and head for the wall. "Please don't tell me it's _open sesame_."

Scott laughs before looking at Stiles. "You're not gonna believe this. I think it was _alohomora_."

Stiles blinks. "Are you kidding me? A secret gateway to a secret world and they use _alohomora?_ "

Scott raises his eyebrows. "Hey, give your wand a go."

Stiles pulls out his new wand and waves it at the bricks. " _Alohomora_."

He's almost cocky with it - because it's one of the easiest god-damn spells.

Stiles shouldn't have been cocky.

Fire begins to breathe out from his wand.

"Woah - ! Stiles, what the _hell!_ " Scott shrieks.

"Oh, dear god - "

"Put it out! Why are you starting a fire?!"

"It's not me!" Stiles yells, waving the wand around frantically. It's making it worse, is what it's doing. "It's the wand!"

"We're gonna set off the alarms, do something!"

"It won't go out! You do something!" Stiles yells.

Scott pulls out his wand and points it at Stiles'. " _Decendio._ "

The flames die, leaving the boys catching their breath.

"What - " Scott breathes. "The hell...was that?"

Stiles stares down at the wand. "Maybe I should have listened to the terms and conditions."

Scott waves his wand at the wall and uses the unlocking charm - it works for _him_.

They step through as the bricks move and find themselves on a platform, packed to the brim with wizards and witches.

Stiles eyes his crazy wand one last time, double-checking it's not caught on fire again before looking around the platform. "Alright. Blend in."

"That's rich, coming from _Mr Fire Starter_." Scott murmurs as they make their way along the platform.

There are two empty seats to the right of them. They sit down as quickly as they can before staring up at the board.

Ilvermorny - cancelled. Ilvermorny - cancelled.

Ilvermorny - _delayed_.

Scott pulls in his lips and exhales slowly.

"I think we're gonna be late." Stiles mumbles, looking down at the dark tunnel where the train tracks disappear.

"You think?" Scott hisses.

"Hey, it's been pretty fun though, right?" Stiles grins at his friend.

Scott tries so hard to keep his face neutral but this is Scott and he can't do that. He breaks into a smile. "I've had more fun this morning than I have all summer."

"Summer wasn't that bad." Stiles crosses his arms and stares ahead at the board painted to the curve of the tunnel, advertising the latest broom.

"Stiles, you snapped your wand and my broom flew away."

"It could have been worse." Stiles argues.

" _How?_ "

"You could've flown away with the broom. What would I have done today without my side-kick?"

"That's true. You wouldn't have lasted five minutes. That goblin would have added you to his soup."

Stiles remembers the spilt soup. "Ah, shit." He unties his robe and assesses the damage. "I gotta clean this up."

As he reaches for his wand, Scott yelps and grasps onto Stiles' wrist. " _Never_ use that wand. _Ever_ again."

Stiles laughs in disbelief. "I can't believe we're going into fifth-year with no broom and a psychopathic wand! Say good-bye to your weekends, Scotty. We're gonna be spending every single one of them dusting off books in the library."

Scott makes his wand hover just above the ground, pointing it at the soup stain on Stiles' robe. "Although it's started off rocky, I have high hopes for this year. I really do."

"You do?" Stiles watches Scott cast a cleaning spell and settles in his seat as the wand goes to work.

"Yeah. We get to train for the Quidditch World Cup for the first time."

Stiles raises an eyebrow. "That's all you got?"

Scott sighs before eyeing up the cleaning. "This looks like it's gonna take a while."

"Perfect. They say bad things come in three."

"Well, technically, this would be the _fourth_ bad thing to happen to us today - "

"Got it, Scott."

Silence settles between them both and Stiles gazes back down the dark tunnel.

Fifth year. Fifth _freaking_ year.

Time flies when you're sitting on wands.

Stiles sees Scott in the corner of his eye. He's staring at his watch.

"Well, we've got thirty-five minutes until we're officially late."

"Really, that much time? The possibilities are endless."

" _I Spy?_ " Scott snickers to himself.

Stiles shuffles in his seat so he's facing Scott better. "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with...'B'."

"Broom." Scott sneers. "Real funny."

Stiles chuckles. "Hey, I was merely observing this fantastic advertisement in front of us. Nothing to do with your broom flying away."

Scott ignores him. "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'D'."

"'D'." Stiles repeats, eyes scanning the platform. He notices the line between them and the tracks. " _Do Not Cross_?"

"Nope."

He scans again. "Drain cover?"

"No."

"I give up."

"What? You've had _two_ guesses."

"There's nothing else here beginning with 'D'."

"It's not even in this room!"

Stiles spins his head around at Scott. "What do you mean, it's not in this - that's the rule of the game, dumbass!"

"No, it's not! It can be anywhere!"

Stiles blinks in disbelief. "No, it can't - what is it, Scott?"

He sits with his arms folded. "'Detention'."

"'De _tention'?_ "

"Yeah."

"That's not even an object!"

"It doesn't have to _be_ an object - "

"What rule book are you even playing from - ?"

" - it can be _anything_ , that's the whole point of the game - "

"I honestly truly understand your mother's frustration. I really do."

"Hey! The train's here." Scott jumps up way too eagerly.

Stiles sees the headlights appear in the tunnel and stands up with Scott. The train is coming to a halt as the front passes them and Stiles uses this opportunity to check on his robe.

Nearly halfway there. Not too bad.

The train stops and the doors open with a loud 'ding'. As they step on, Stiles begins to wonder what is actually so magical about this platform. The most exciting thing they've seen is moving bricks.

Scott leads them to a row of seats and they sit down.

Stiles frowns. The train is...just a train. A plain, boring, No-Maj train.

Another 'ding' sounds out and the doors close.

"Scott, is it just me or are we on a normal train?"

Scott frowns at him before looking down the carriage at a group of wizards conversing amongst themselves. "Stiles, they're literally wearing robes."

"I know, I know, but...well, I thought it would be more exciting than this."

The corners of Scott's mouth pull down as all the lights cut out above them.

"Well." Stiles states.

"Is this more exciting for you?" Scott asks, _just_ as the lights flicker back on.

Stiles' eyes are already looking out the window and his stomach drops.

The train is outside. The train is _outside?_

Scott and he sits up straight in confusion as the doors open.

"What the hell?"

Everyone begins to step off and panic swells in Stiles' stomach. The definitely should be getting off.

The boys stumble out of the carriage and onto a platform that Stiles very much recognises. They pass it every time they arrive at Ilvermorny.

"We're...we're here."

Scott stares at _everything_ before a grin takes over his face. "That was _awesome!_ "

"I take it all back. All of it." Stiles shakes his head. "We're definitely getting the train next time."

They begin to follow everyone out of the station.

"I don't know, I'm kind of sad that we missed the cart." Scott says.

Stiles moans. "A Two-Tone-Taffy would go down a _treat_ right now."

They make it out and Scott checks his watch. "Right. We have twenty minutes to get up that mountain and get in."

"You make it sound so easy." Stiles replies sarcastically.

Scott glares at him and checks his watch once more. "Nine _teen_ minutes - "

"Alright, alright. Come on."

**\- - -**

"Six...minutes!"

Stiles' left foot pulls off of the last step and lands on the concrete path with a loud thud.

His lungs are on fire, he can't breathe and sweat is dripping through his hair and down his face. Man, he wishes he shaved his head again.

He looks over his shoulder as he heaves in and out to check on Scott.

The poor boy is kneeling on a step, struggling to pull out his inhaler.

"You okay, Scotty?"

"I'm pretty...sure I'm going in...into cardiac arrest - " He pauses to use his inhaler. " - but apart from that, I'm good!"

Stiles helps him up the last of the steps before they stare ahead at the open gates. Not a single person on the other side.

They're literally the _only_ ones running late.

Stiles looks down at Scott's floating wand and checks out the damage. Nearly finished.

"Let's go." Scott braces himself before he starts running.

They sprint through the open metal gates and through the courtyard, passing the statues of the school’s founders that stand proudly in the centre of the pond - that Stiles only just dodges. He imagines having to walk into school, drenched as well as late. He’d rather not.

When they see the entrance doors, Stiles checks his watch. Three minutes.

He ignores the look on the groundsman's face as they run past him.

"The ceremony's starting soon, boys. You better run faster!"

"We know, Deaton!" Stiles heaves. "Have more faith in us!"

The boys dart through the doors and straight up the hall to their usual short-cut. They spin on their heels and run up the tiny staircase on the left, almost tripping over each other.

The staircase spins around and around and around and Stiles feels as if it's taking much longer than usual but then he hears the sound of loud chatter that's echoing through the walls and his panic dies down a little.

The boys make it to the top, take a right and open the first door they see, stumbling in and gripping onto each other to stabilize themselves.

Stiles looks around the balcony. It's filled with their school mates, chattering and giggling between themselves and no one, not a single person has noticed them walk in.

Scott looks down at his watch. Nine-thirty- _one_.

They both grin at each other in disbelief.

"We done it. Holy _shit._ " Stiles laughs.

Why does he have to be so cocky?

A hand slams down on his shoulder and he freezes. Looks at Scott. There's a hand on his shoulder, too.

Stiles is going to take a wild guess that these hands are of the same pair.

The man doesn't have to speak for them to know who it is.

"Boys, how old are you now?"

Stiles stares ahead. Swallows. "Fourteen."

"So, that means you're in...what year, now?"

Scott looks to the ground. "Fifth year."

"Fifth year." Stiles adds.

"Fifth year." Professor Finstock confirms. "That's correct."

Scott steals a glance at Stiles.

"So, why is it...after four years of attending Ilvermorny...you both still struggle with the concept of time-keeping?"

Scott doesn't say a word. Stiles _has_ to.

"Time zones?"

Professor Finstock spins them both around and lowers himself to their level. "I bet you can already guess what I'm about to say."

"I mean, we can, but that doesn't mean that we _want_ to - "

" _Stiles._ " Scott groans.

"Detention. Every Saturday morning for the next four weeks."

"I guessed right. Did you guess right, Scott?" Stiles looks at his friend.

"It can be for five weeks. I can certainly make it five weeks." Finstock adds.

"Not necessary." Stiles mumbles.

"Unfortunately, you're both now four minutes late. And as you can hear, the ceremony has begun."

Stiles' ears tune into his surroundings. Yep, the principle is speaking. _Great_.

"So...Stiles?"

He blinks at the professor.

"Do me a favour and remove Scott's wand from your robe." Finstock smiles sarcastically.

Oh _shit_. The soup.

"And, Scott?"

"Yes, Coach." Scott looks like an injured puppy.

"Please come and collect your broom from my office before your first period."

Stiles' head snaps up at Scott. _What?!_

"After you _lost_ it and it flew _away_ , visible to the _No-Maj_ , it summoned itself to the school grounds." Coach explains, glaring at Scott.

Scott stares in disbelief.

"Now, please include yourselves in the ceremony and then get to your first period. _On time_. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Coach." They both reply in unison. 

"Fantastic. Go."

Scott steals one last glance at Stiles before fleeing towards the Pukwudgie section.

Stiles heads towards his house-mates, catching the last of Coach mumbling to himself.

"...god-damn kids make me _sick_."

Stiles raises his eyebrows and pulls in his lips before joining the Horned Serpents.

He decides to stay at the back, given that he's heard Principle Blake's speech four times now.

As he looks around the balcony at the returning students, he receives a nudge in the rib from someone next to him.

"Stilinski."

Stiles turns and blinks. _Liam_.

"What was the reason this time?" The boy whispers.

"Uh, let me think...oh! It's none of your business!" Stiles hisses his reply without looking at the fourth-year kid.

"It is when you lose us house points, dipshit." Liam mutters back.

Stiles is no longer paying attention because Lydia Martin is standing directly ahead of him and everything in the world has ceased to exist apart from her.

Well, her and the three heads of students between them.

Stiles cranes his head slightly, just so he can see her a little better.

She's standing straight, her dainty manicured hands resting on the balcony's wooden rail.

A young girl - Tracy, is it? - is whispering to her but Lydia is completely ignoring her.

As Lydia Martin does.

Stiles shakes his head slightly, realizing that it's a new year and she remains to be the same uptight girl that she was before.

That won't stop Stiles from persevering though, will it?

It should. It really should.

**\- - -**

The ceremony lasts longer than Stiles had hoped and by the end of it, his stomach is _growling_.

Like sheep, everyone slowly - _painfully_ slowly - makes their way down to the ground floor to join the teachers and the new students for breakfast.

By the time they've made it down, magic has done its job of setting up the tables and chairs and candles and there are mounds of food on every table.

Stiles doesn't need to find Scott - he just heads to their usual spot and the boy is already seated, head and arms resting on the table.

"Cheer up, Scotty. It could be worse."

"How. _How_ , Stiles."

Stiles sits down. "Well, it's actually _better_ when you think about it. You got your broom back!"

Scott lifts his head. "At what cost? What if a No-Maj saw?"

Stiles clears his throat and places his hands on the first bowl that floats their way. "Trust me. You would definitely know."

Stiles dumps a few pieces of bacon onto his plate before passing the bowl to Scott.

"I can't eat. I'm too worried. Surely I'm in more trouble than I currently am."

Stiles ignores him, placing two pieces of bacon on his best friend's plate. He allows the bowl to float away before the next one arrives.

"This is a serious crime. I could have exposed _everything_."

Stiles slaps a spoonful of scrambled egg on Scott's plate. "Scott, calm down. If they were going to do anything, I think they would have done it by now."

"Fifth-year _sucks_." Scott sits up straight. "It's started in the worst way possible."

Stiles stares at him before shovelling food down his throat.

"I need something good to happen." Scott exclaims. " _Anything_ \- "

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?"

The boys look up at the foreign voice.

A brunette girl stands at the end of the table, a polite smile on her lips and a shy look in her eyes.

She's pretty. Like, _really_ pretty.

Scott drops his fork.

Stiles grimaces at his best friend's foolery and shuffles over. "Sure, go ahead."

The girl's smile brightens and she sits down next to Stiles. "Thank you. I'm Allison."

"Stiles." He smiles before looking at Scott.

He's staring at the fork he dropped.

"And that's Scott." Stiles kicks him under the table.

Scott jumps and hisses before glaring at Stiles.

"Do they serve soup here for _breakfast?_ " Allison asks.

Stiles is throwing Scott a 'what the hell are you doing?' look before clearing his mind. "Huh? What?"

"I can smell soup." Allison states.

Stiles freezes, closing his eyes. Fucking _great_.

"Erm, they - they don't usually, but, uh, new school year, right?" He laughs awkwardly before staring at Scott.

"So, Allison. You're new?" Scott asks with a high-pitched voice.

 _Wow_.

Allison chuckles very lightly. "Yeah. I transferred from Beauxbatons."

"Wow, really?" Stiles raises his eyebrows. "What brings you all the way to South America?"

"Not the food, clearly." Allison eyes up Stiles' bacon and scrambled eggs. "Uh, my dad's a professor. He was asked to move here."

"That's cool." Scott nods with a smile.

Stiles points out the obvious. "You don't _sound_ French."

Allison pulls on a platter that's floating past. " _À quoi ressemble un Français?_ "

Stiles blinks.

He has _no_ idea what she just said, but he's going to assume it was something smart to put him in his place.

"Apologies." He smiles.

Allison breaks into a smile before putting a pile of fruit on her plate. "It's fine. I get it a lot. I'm from New York, moved to France just before my first year at school."

Stiles nods. "Good to be back?"

She thinks about it for a moment. "Kind of. Caught up with some relatives before coming here, so that was nice."

Scott looks around the hall. "Which one's your dad?"

Allison points to the back end. "The man dressed in black."

Stiles squints before finding the right guy.

He's glaring right back at him.

"He's, um..."

Allison looks at Scott with a hint of humour in her expression. "Scary?"

"I wouldn't say _scary_ , but..."

"He's the new Dark Arts professor."

Stiles and Scott nod. Makes perfect sense.

"What about you guys?" Allison asks, popping a grape into her mouth. "What houses are you in?"

"I'm a Serpent." Stiles replies.

"Pukwudgie."

Allison swallows her food. "They put me in Thunderbird."

"You've been sorted? I didn't see you at the ceremony." Scott states.

"They sorted me on arrival. My dad ensured them we didn't need to do the whole ceremony thing again."

"Wow. You missed out on a fun experience." Scott frowns slightly.

Allison shrugs. "I'm not phased. I'm just glad to be eating breakfast. Do you both have Charms for first period?"

The boys nod. 

"Professor Finch is nice, you'll like her. She's pretty chill." Scott explains.

Allison nods before looking around the room. "I hate this next part. Making new friends."

"Well, you're more than welcome to hang with us - if you want." Scott replies. Way too quickly.

"That's really nice. Thank you." Allison smiles at them both. "So what's it like here? What kind of groups do we have?"

"Well, you've got the sporty guys. It's handy to get to know them if you want to join any teams." Stiles begins.

"The fifth-year is when you can start training for the Quidditch World Cup." Scott adds with a proud smile.

"You've got your typical brainy-bunch. They're good to cheat off of - "

" _Learn_ off of." Scott corrects him.

"Erm, the popular group, the in-the-back kind of students, and you've got..." Stiles trails off completely as he spots Lydia walk their way. "...Lydia Martin. You look - "

She walks _straight_ past. Doesn't even bat an eyelid.

" - like you're gonna ignore me."

Scott pulls in his lips to stop the laugher from escaping and Allison looks at Stiles with a bit of sympathy. "You know her?"

Stiles stutters.

"Yeah, but she doesn't know him." Scott answers, his hand covering his mouth after a muffled laugh breaks through. "Lydia chooses to not know anyone."

"Why?"

"No clue." Scott shakes his head. "Think she just prefers being a loner."

Allison thinks and then shrugs. "That's fair."

Stiles is peaking after Lydia, hoping she will at least crack a god-damn smile.

Nothing.

He genuinely wishes he weren't in love with a girl who radiates pure evil.

"So, Allison. What's your favourite class?" Scott asks.

"Care of Magical Creatures." Allison smiles, grasping onto the floating jug of OJ. "What about you?"

"Potions." Scott replies, holding out his glass after Allison offers to pour him some juice.

Stiles stares at the pair of them.

Is he third- _wheeling?_

Is Scott actually managing to engage in genuine conversation with a _girl?_

Man. This year really is starting off crazy.

**\- - -**

"Okay, class. We're going to begin today's lesson with learning how to perform _vermillious_." Professor Finch stands at the front of the class, slowly gaining everyone's attention.

Stiles lifts his eyes from his textbook, accidentally noticing that Scott is staring right across the other end of the room.

Where Allison is sitting.

He rolls his eyes.

He then looks to his right at Lydia who is seated next to him.

She's already jotting down notes.

He glares with absolute jealousy. _How_ does her brain take in so much knowledge this early in the morning?

"This charm is mainly used to signal for help due to its bright red sparks, so it's very handy to use in an SOS situation. But it can also be used when duelling as a minor offence. Let's begin."

As Stiles watches professor Finch and the other students lift up their wands, he comes to a horrific realization.

His wand spits fire.

"This charm can be performed seated, so stay where you are. Wands up, everyone!"

Oh god. Jesus fucking christ.

"Repeat this motion." Professor Finch moves her wand in a half-circle before dragging it down.

Stiles takes none of it in. Because he's freaking out.

"Dude." Scott whispers from his left.

Stiles looks at him with panic in his eyes. "I can't use my wand."

The realization hits Scott, too.

Stiles is pulling out his wand. He doesn't know why. He really doesn't.

"That's it, everyone. Well done!" Finch calls out. "Now, let's give it a proper go. Try to perform _vermillious_."

Shit, shit, shit, shit. _Shit._

Stiles looks at Scott again.

"What am I supposed to do? It's not gonna work!" Stiles whispers aggressively at Scott.

"Well, you can't just _sit_ there and do nothing!" Scott hisses back.

"I'd much rather sit here and do nothing than set fire to the entirety of the _fucking classroom_ \- "

"Oh my god, will you two shut up!" Lydia hisses from the right.

Both boys jump and stare at her.

She has her wand pointed up with red sparks flying from the tip. She's doing the charm and she's not even _looking_ at her wand. He hates her but he's also really besotted with her.

"Whatever issue that you're having with your wand, Stilinski, the rest of the god-damn class doesn't need to know."

"I don't think you understand. It's literally spouting _fire_ \- "

Lydia presses her fingers into the bridge of her nose. "Then do the opposite."

Stiles blinks. "The opposite?"

"Hey, I'm doing it!" Scott cheers quietly next to Stiles.

He and Lydia ignore him. "Yes, the opposite. It's obviously going against its master so make it go the other way."

"Huh." Stiles stares at his wand. "Interesting."

Lydia rolls her eyes and goes back to her own devices. Stiles leaves it a few seconds before bothering her again.

"Hey, Lydia?"

She locks her jaw and glares at him. "What."

"What the hell is the opposite of _vermillious_?"

It looks as if she's muttering to herself with annoyance - Stiles does have that effect on people - before Professor Finch approaches.

"You can't do it, Stiles?"

"Uh..." Stiles swallows, looking up at the woman. "...no."

"Alright, well give it a try now. Let's see what's going wrong." The woman gives him a warming smile.

"I'd, er, I'd rather not."

She blinks. "Well, why not?"

"Just...'cause. You know, I'm not really feeling this one."

"Stiles, this counts as part of your grade." She raises an eyebrow. Another person Stiles has annoyed today. He should make a tally. "You _have_ to do this spell."

"It's the red sparks - you know? A bit too much for my eyes - "

"Well, Martin and McCall's wands are doing just that and you don't seem phased."

Wow. This woman won't let up.

"Excellent observation." Stiles smiles before looking down at his charms book.

A devastatingly long thirty seconds and plenty of awkward exchanges between Scott and a disbelieving look from Lydia's corner go by before Professor Finch taps on Stiles' desk. "Well?"

"Well...?"

"Jesus, Stiles - just do the charm." Scott whispers desperately, quite obviously suffering from second-hand embarrassment.

Stiles inhales and closes his eyes, praying to whoever the hell is listening before lifting his wand to the sky.

He doesn't know whether it's Professor Finch's stare or Scott's overbearing fear of what's to come or Lydia's _what-the-fuck-is-happening-right-now_ expression that's going to send Stiles over the edge but hopefully one of them does so he doesn't have to do this charm.

He stares at his wand - _really_ stares, silently ordering (begging) it to do as it's told before he lets the words roll off of his tongue. _Very_ slowly.

" _Vermillious_ ".

He awaits the flames to burst out and singe poor Finch's eyebrows and take the whole class with them but that doesn't happen.

No, what happens is sparks. _Red_ sparks spraying out of his wand. It _worked_.

_How?!_

As Professor Finch claps, Stiles stares at Scott and shares his disbelief before looking over to Lydia, catching the last second of her pointing her wand towards his.

She drops her wand to her lap and folds her hands over, avoiding his gaze.

The red sparks at the tip of Stiles' wand disappear.

Holy shit.

Holy _shit_ , Lydia just done that.

She _helped_ him.

“See, Stilinski? You did it. Nothing to be worried about.” Mrs Finch beams before wandering off, her robe floating after her.

Stiles glances up quickly to throw her his worst fake smile before Scott laughs in shock.

“Holy shit, it worked. I did _not_ expect that.”

Stiles laughs nervously, taking in a deep breath and blowing his cheeks out. “Close call, huh.”

He watches Scott shake his head and waits for him to look down at his book before shifting his body the other way.

Stiles clears his throat, rubs at the bottom of his nose before stealing a glance towards Lydia.

Her eyes are down, focused on her notes. As if the whole previous ordeal didn’t even occur.

He clears his throat again and ducks his head. “Thank you, Lydia.”

She doesn’t look up, doesn’t flinch. She simply continues jotting words down at a million miles-a-second. Stiles watches the end of her quill bob about and genuinely thinks that’s the end of _that_ interaction.

“Get your wand fixed before you burn us all to the ground, Stilinski.”

Stiles’ eyebrows raise. _Well._

He’d prefer it if she hadn’t of said anything at all.

**\- - -**

Stiles never thought he'd ever be excited about Herbology class, but as he practically sprints out of Charms and down the hall with a spring in his step, he thanks whoever the fuck is above that he has the most painstakingly boring class for his second period. A class where you simply just...care for plants. A class where a _wand isn't required_.

Stiles figures this lesson is the perfect opportunity to ignore everything Professor Harris says and conjure up a plan to get his wand fixed.

By the time he steps outside and heads towards the gigantic greenhouse that's perched on the incline of the field in front, he's already making a mental note of possible helping hands.

He _could_ go back and ask for Professor Finch's help. She seems chilled enough to listen and understand. However, in _her_ eyes, he performed a charm with his wand whilst being aware that it was faulty. Which is probably a big _no-no_ in whatever rulebook they follow. So she probably would rat him out.

Hale? No. Nope. Too scary.

Perhaps - hypothetically - he goes straight to Principle Blake without cutting corners and explains it to her. She'll find this to be an act of bravery and reward the Serpents five-hundred house points for Stiles' heroicness - 

Stiles scoffs at himself while opening the ridiculously large glass door of the greenhouse. (Like, honestly. Does it need to be this big?)

So, who does he go to? Who's not going to get him into trouble with the big guys?

His brain scrambles as he thinks of every single member of the school's authority and then realizes exactly who he can go to.

And he doesn't like it. He _really_ doesn't like it.

"Dude!"

Stiles turns at the sound of Scott's voice bouncing off of the glass panels around them.

"You're a little too eager for Herbology, don't you think?" Scott says with a confused smile.

Allison is standing right next to him, gazing at the pure wonder of the glasshouse they are currently in. Stiles often forgets this is all new to other people.

"No wands." Stiles smiles smugly.

Scott nods, matching Stiles' expression as Professor Harris quickly runs through the forming crowd of students.

"Excuse me - sorry I'm late, students - excuse me. Sorry."

Both the boys make their way to one of the six long wooden stations, flopping their Herbology books onto the surface. Allison follows their lead and stands next to Scott.

"Welcome back, everyone!" Harris stands on the platform in front of the stations. His own station sits next to him and he's surrounded by different plants in various cages. Stiles only recognises a few.

"I can see from all of your expressions that you're excited for not only another year at Ilvermorny, but another year of learning about these magnificent plants!"

Groans echo around Stiles.

"Well - some of you still look half asleep, so let's begin this lesson with a plant that will help you wake up!"

Stiles watches the professor open the cage to his right. He carefully lifts a tray of plants that look like any normal plant. But Stiles knows by now that they'll be far from normal.

"This is a Mandragora. Also known as a Mandrake. Now, what is so very rare about these - "

The sound of the glass door opening behind them causes everyone to turn around.

Harris sighs. "Theo Raeken, you're late."

Stiles catches one glimpse of his fellow house " _mate_ " and rolls his eyes before turning back to face the front.

"Yeah." Theo replies as he etches closer to the class. "My bad."

Harris looks like he wants to argue but due to his poor disciplinary skills that haven't changed since first year, he holds his tongue and sighs before gesturing for the boy to sit.

And luckily for Stiles, Theo sits right next to him.

"As I was saying. The Mandragora is unique compared to other magical plants, as when it is unearthed..."

"Stilinski." Theo acknowledges Stiles as he flicks through his Herbology book, looking just as bored as the rest of the class.

Well, apart from Lydia. Allison, too, actually. And because Allison is paying attention, Scott's pretending to pay attention.

"Did you enjoy your summer break?"

Stiles exhales, side-eyeing Theo. He hates him so much.

"Just because you're sitting next to me doesn't mean you need to make small talk."

"Great. Because I haven't forgotten what you did to my dorm room." Theo whispers, his teeth gritted behind a fake smile.

"I did that because you released a Doxy down the back of my robe - "

"Don't you think throwing Garroting Gas into my room in response was a bit of over the top?"

"'A bit over the _top'?_ Do you realise how poisenous a Doxy _is_ \- ?"

"I nearly _suffocated_ \- "

"Please place the noise-cancelling headphones on!" Harris' voice interrupts their bickering.

Stiles blinks. "Wait, what?" 

A pair of headphones float down and hover in front of him.

Stiles blinks again and turns to Scott. "What did I miss?"

Scott shrugs, taking hold of his headphones. "I have no idea. I was listening to you two arguing."

Allison pushes Scott out of the way and raises her eyebrows at Stiles. "Loud, screaming plant. Extremely fatal. Keep your headphones on at all times."

Stiles opens and closes his mouth, confused and frightened all at the same time. "Thank you...?"

He swiftly puts his headphones on, slapping both sides to double-check his ears are well and truly covered. He's not dying today because of a plant. Maybe another time.

"Does everyone have their headphones on?! Great!" Harris is probably yelling, but Stiles can just about hear him. At least the headphones work.

Stiles watches his teacher slowly lift a Mandrake from the tray and is completely taken aback when the root looks _just_ like a little baby. Sort of.

And it's cute! Until it screams.

The sound pierces through Stiles' eardrums and he slumps a little, placing his hands over the headphones to push them in a little more.

All the students are reacting pretty much the same way as the little plant carries on screaming. Doesn't even come up for air.

Stiles is nearly doubled over at this point while he watches Professor Harris quickly transfer the Mandrake to another pot and begins to chuck in soil.

Eventually the screaming stops and Harris gestures for everyone to remove their headphones.

"Like I was saying. A baby Mandrake's scream is fatal but nowhere near as fatal as the scream of a matured Mandrake."

Theo glares at Stiles. "Don't get any ideas."

"A baby Mandrake's scream will commonly cause unconsciousness for several hours. The worst-case documented was in the eighties when a student got too close to an unearthed baby without protective equipment. They suffered long-term hearing loss and a bleed in the brain. Which eventually caused them to die."

Stiles' eyes widen.

"Anyway! I have a few matured Mandrake's here - and don't be alarmed, they're well-trained so they won't scream! However, we will keep our headphones on as a precaution." Harris explains.

Stiles gives it to him - this has been the most exciting Herbology class so far. Not that it was hard, but, kudos to Harris.

"I'd like someone to volunteer - " Harris steps off of the platform, Mandrake in hand.

Everyone scrambles in the opposite direction.

The only one left standing by a station is Lydia. She's rolling her eyes at the rest of the class.

Harris sends her a sheepish shrug before placing the Mandrake in front of her.

"Do you know anything about a matured Mandrake, Lydia?" He asks, even though he already knows the answer to that question.

Lydia nods. "They're moody."

Harris chuckles. "They are. Which indicates that they've reached their...'teenage' years. Mandrakes have quite a few human characteristics."

Stiles frowns. He's intrigued now.

"Unearth the Mandrake, Lydia." Harris turns to the rest of the students and taps his ear, signalling them to place their headphones back on.

Stiles does, quicker than he'd of liked to.

Lydia unearths the Mandrake. Slowly, carefully, precisely, and without any fear.

She pulls the plant up and there's no screaming this time, but instead, a grumpy-looking face stares straight back at her. It's even got two branches crossed over its front.

Stiles laughs in disbelief with some other students.

"They sing, too." Lydia adds as she admires the creature in her grasp. "When planted together, their happiness increases and they sing together."

"That's correct, Lydia. They do sing! And the more you treat them correctly, the less moody they become." Harris explains.

Stiles notices the way Lydia holds the Mandrake - much different from how Harris showed. She hasn't crunched the leaves in her grip. She has her hand on the back of the Mandrake, kind of cradling it, and has the leaves draped over her other hand.

It seems to like that.

The moody expression begins to fade away and underneath that is quite a deadpan look, but it's definitely happier. It even wraps a branch around Lydia's wrist.

The class whisper in amazement as Harris congratulates Lydia. "Twenty points to the Serpents!"

Stiles smiles as his fellow house-mates cheer.

Lydia spins around and hushes them. "Loud noises startle Mandrakes."

The Serpent students silence.

"She really is a treat." Theo mutters.

Stiles rolls his eyes. "Shut up, Theo."

****

**\- - -**

Stiles has been pacing back and forth for about ten minutes now.

He's been ignoring the strange looks from students as they pass him because, well, he's got more important matters to deal with.

Like fixing his wand.

And the massive door to his right that he keeps pacing past seems to be getting bigger and bigger with every step he makes.

Stiles knows he should knock. But he's too fucking frightened. So he continues to pace and pace until he can find the courage to - 

“Stilinski, you're creating a draft.” Coach’s voice rumbles through the wooden door.

Stiles jumps out of his skin before calming his nerves and running a hand through his hair. “I - er, just - I need a little advice...about my wand, Coach.”

“Your wand?” Coach replies, his voice muffled.

“Y - yeah. It, um, it appears to be...not _working_ \- “

He doesn’t even get to finish his sentence, because a hand slams over his mouth and before he knows it, Stiles is being dragged away from Coach’s office.

“He’s pulling a prank, Coach. Ignore him!”

Stiles doesn’t hear the profanities that Coach is yelling out. Instead, his eyes bulge with shock and anger as he’s dragged out onto the courtyard by the last person he ever imagined.

As soon as the hand leaves his mouth, he turns to the culprit with a simmering glare. “What the hell, Lydia?!”

“Are you a genuine _idiot?!_ " She hisses at him, her eyes darting around.

“ _Why_ would you do that?! I’m probably going to get detention - !”

“Good! That’ll give you time to think about the consequences of your actions!” Lydia yells a little too loudly. Her eyes glance around before she mumbles to herself in annoyance. “For _god_ \- follow me.”

He wants to yell at her and demand _why on earth_ he should be following her anywhere, but something about her stance and her terrifying glare tells Stiles to shut his mouth and do what she says.

So, after spending a few seconds grunting and muttering, he does follow her around the edge of the courtyard, behind the back of the left tower and finds himself crouched down next to her as she looks around to ensure they’re alone.

He scans the deserted spot - it's quiet and very well hidden behind a few trees and bushes. It's the type of spot that Stiles should have definitely known was there.

He blinks at Lydia, struggling to meet her eye for more than three seconds. His heart drums against his rib cage as they stay in complete silence.

If someone told Stiles at the beginning of this day that Lydia Martin will not only _help_ him, but force him to hide with her on their free period, he would have...well. He would have...not believed it. Yeah.

“Give me your wand.” Lydia whispers, her hand held out.

Stiles laughs in disbelief. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

She tilts her head and stares at him.

“Y - yep. Sure.” Stiles pulls out his wand and hands it to her.

To begin with, she frowns at it as she balances it on her finger. Her eyes bore into it as if she’s stripping it down, piece by piece with just her vision.

And Stiles cannot help but just...watch. Watch her say absolutely nothing but do absolutely everything all at once.

He’s no longer crouched. He’s sat down, leaning against a large pointy rock that’s digging right into his lower back.

But he doesn’t mind.

At all.

“Does it feel off to you?” Lydia asks him quietly.

Her piercing eyes kind of throw him off guard because they’re looking right at him, not blinking.

“Uh...kinda?” He tilts his head. “But I just put that down to the fact they ripped me off.”

“They did the complete opposite, actually.” Lydia replies, bringing her eyes back to the balancing wand. “This has been carved from a rosewood tree. Extremely rare for this wood to be used on a wand. _Extremely_ expensive wood.”

Stiles frowns. “If it’s so god-damn rare, then why is it underperforming?”

Lydia rolls her eyes. “Come on, Stiles. Basic wand-training. The wand will not perform the same for each person. The wand picks - “

“Picks its master. I know, I know.” Stiles sighs, shifting his sitting position. “Right, okay. So, it turns out I actually got a pretty solid deal on the price of this wand, yeah?”

Lydia nods.

“Why would the guy sell me a rare wand for a fraction of its worth? Completely aware that this isn’t… _my_ wand? What was he gaining by doing that?”

Lydia purses her lips. “That’s a very good question. Do you mind if I try something?”

“I don’t mind, but I also don’t advise.” Stiles raises an eyebrow.

Lydia ignores him, her fingers picking up the wand so delicately as if to not scare it.

She points it to the empty air in front of them and gives it a little flick. " _Vermillious_ ".

The wand doesn’t even half-ass it. The charm simply just...happens.

No fire, no zapping, no chopping down trees with laser beams (Stiles can dream, can’t he?), the wand simply performs the charm. Perfectly.

Stiles squares up and glares at the wand in Lydia’s hand. “Listen, buddy. What’s your problem?”

Lydia laughs.

Lydia laughs at Stiles.

Well, more of an escaped giggle that didn’t really want to be there. But, it happened and it was a lovely sound.

Stiles looks at Lydia. “That simple, huh?”

Lydia flicks the wand around a little more, getting a feel for it. “It’s definitely a wand in denial. But with a bit of persuasion...it’ll do just fine.”

“Lydia, why can’t I just speak to Coach about this? See what he thinks?” Stiles asks, leaning back against the painful rock.

Lydia stops casting the spell and lowers the wand. “They’ll open up an investigation. An investigation around you, your family’s history, around the store you purchased it from...do you really want that kind of attention? _Especially_ after the Calamity?”

"Lydia, that was _years_ ago - "

"That doesn't matter. They're still currently discovering artefacts and creatures caused by the breach. If you and this wand gain their curiosity, they'll assume the worst."

Huh. Valid point.

“An investigation never leaves you. It stays on your wizard record forever. It flags up with _every_ employer.”

Stiles tilts his head in confusion. “Lydia, how the hell do you know all this - ?”

He closes his mouth and sighs. She just stares blankly at him.

“Of course you know. You’re Lydia Martin.”

She looks back down at the wand. “I have a proposition.”

Stiles is taken aback. “Okay?”

“How do you feel about me holding onto this wand for a little while? I may able to train it.”

“Erm, sure?” Stiles frowns.

“In the meantime…” Lydia lifts her robe and pulls her wand from her boot. “You can look after this.”

Stiles pauses. “Wait - _what?_ You’re trusting me with - “

“Yes, I know. It’s a shock to me as much as it is to you. You guard her with your _life_ , Stilinski.” Lydia says sternly.

Stiles’ head is nodding without him even realising. “Y - yes. You bet. With my life. I'll even put a charm on - ”

“Please practise.”

She hands him the wand.

“God - Right. Sure.” Stiles sits up straight and takes the wand, holding it towards the air in front, much like Lydia did before. His leg starts shaking. How embarrassing. " _Vermillious_ ".

He stares at the end of the wand. Relief floods through him. He grins.

Lydia relaxes a bit. The red sparks reflect into her eyes.

Scott may be on to something about having high hopes for this year.

**\- - -**

After half an hour of sitting in the library doing absolutely Jack- _crap_ , Stiles was just about to finally begin his Dark Arts homework (better late than never) when a broom is slammed down right in front of him.

He looks up.

Scott's _beaming_.

"Did it get worse?"

"Sh!"

The boys look over at one of the library's many isles to find the head boy patrolling the area with his hands behind his back.

Stiles rolls his eyes before gazing back up at Scott. 

"Nope." Scott replies, taking a seat. "Coach gave me my broom - well, _threw_ it at me - and said no one saw. So it's being forgotten about."

"What a relief." Stiles leans back with a smile.

"It makes me think, actually, that the only time I seem to get in trouble is when I'm with you."

Stiles squints his eyes at him. "Agree to disagree."

"This library is a place for silence!" The head boy aggressively whispers in their direction. "One more word and that's ten points deducted from _both_ of your houses - " 

"Oh, give it a rest, Greenberg." Stiles scowls. "Find a new hobby - "

"Ten points deducted!"

Stiles stands up in frustration, ready to knock that smug look off of Greenberg's face before Scott yanks him back down and points his wand to Stiles' mouth.

" _Oscausi_." 

Stiles' eyes bulge before his lips completely disappear and he's left with smooth skin.

He _hates_ it when Scott does this.

"It's for your own good. And mine." Scott hisses.

Stiles tries his best to yell abuse at his best friend, but all he can conjure up is muffled noises.

Then Allison appears.

She sits down and stares at the broom taking up half of the desk space. "Okay?"

She then looks up at the boys and her eyes widen at the state of Stiles.

"O _kay?_ "

With a flick of her wand, she reverses the spell and Stiles is gifted the return of his mouth.

He takes full advantage before Scott does it again. "You're an asshole - "

"And _you_ keep losing us house points." Scott hisses.

"It's not my fault Greenberg is a complete prick - " He goes to point at Scott but the bipod of his broomstick is a bit of an obstruction. " - Scott, take the broomstick off of the god-damn table." 

Stiles places his head in his hands as Scott frantically removes the broom, nearly swiping Allison across the face.

"Interesting back story...?" Allison questions, eyeing up the broom that looks like it's been through a few things.

"Uh - "

"You don't wanna know." Stiles brushes it off.

"Yeah. It's probably for the best." Scott murmurs.

Allison watches with amusement. "So, have you guys been best friends since first-year?"

"Since birth." Stiles corrects her as he drags his textbook towards him.

"What?" She raises her eyebrows.

"Yeah. Grew up in the same small town. Got lumbered with him." Scott grins.

" _You_ got lumbered with _me?_ " Stiles chokes. "You came up to _me_ at the sandpit."

"Felt sorry for you." Scott shrugs.

Stiles scoffs before looking at Allison. "He acts as if I'm the burden, but he'd be lost without me."

She raises an eyebrow and giggles. "I can see that."

Scott looks at Stiles' blank parchment paper and raises an eyebrow. "I can see you've been busy."

"Hey." Stiles snaps. "If you two hadn't of interrupted me, I definitely would have at least two sentences written down."

Scott rolls his eyes. "You're an idiot, you know that? Brunski instructed that we have this homework completed for when we come back."

"I know _that_ , Scott. Why do you think I'm rushing to complete it twenty - " Stiles checks his watch. " - _four_ minutes before Dark Arts?"

Allison frowns. "Wait, Brunski isn't here anymore. My dad's taking over."

Stiles looks at her with a questioning expression. She shoots him the same expression.

"My father won't carry over last year's homework."

"What?" Stiles blinks.

" _What?_ " Scott gawks.

"No, that's not his style. He likes to begin a year with a fresh palette. Don't worry about the homework." Allison chuckles.

"Don't worry about - " Scott stutters, his eyes wide. "Don't _worry?_ I spent two full weeks of summer break to get it finished!"

Stiles grins and leans back. "And you missed two full weeks of playing the new _Call of Duty_ in my bedroom. That's funny."

Allison's face deadpans. " _Call of Duty_...right. I feel like I fully understand you both, now."

Stiles feels his cheeks flush a little. "W-well, it wasn't two _complete_ weeks...I mean, I stopped playing to... _pee_."

Allison pulls in her lips. "And to _shower_ , I hope."

"Yes. And that."

"Well, come on." Allison stands, looking down at the boys. "My father prefers his students being early."

"Great." Stiles sings, gathering his textbook and parchment paper.

"Smile, Stiles. Anything's better than Brunski." Scott says pointedly, nearly tripping over his broomstick resting against the desk.

"You are right on this, Scott. _Anyone_ over Brunski."

****

\- - -

"You all have three seconds to open your books and have them on page seventy-three. The last student will volunteer themselves to help me clean the Erklings' cages after class."

Stiles blinks at the tall, gaunt, emotionless man and wonders whether he should retract his statement about Brunski being the worst.

Allison's father is everything you'd expect a Dark Arts professor to be; dressed in dark robes, a murderous expression and eyes that look like they'll split you into two with just one glare.

Someone that Stiles wouldn't necessarily want to get on the bad side of, so he does as he's told. Quickly.

He uses his new wand (Lydia's wand, but whatever) to flick to the correct page and receives a very small quiet gasp from the right of him.

He looks up to see Scott gawking at his wand. "Where did you get that?"

Stiles opens his mouth, looking from the wand to Scott quite a few times before conjuring up some sort of story that Scott will believe.

"I...went to Coach. He found me a wand in lost and found."

Scott blows out his cheeks. "That's a bit risky, isn't it - ?"

"You. Boy."

The class - that was pretty silent anyway, apart from fluttering pages of textbooks - fell even _more_ silent and Stiles looks up to find Professor Argent looking directly at Scott and him.

Well, he's looking directly at _Scott_.

Who looks like he's about to throw up.

"Are you on page seventy-three?"

Scott shakily looks down at his book before looking back up. "No, sir."

"Okay." Argent replies, his expression unfaltering. "I hope you enjoy clearing elfish beasts' excretion from their cages. It'll take an hour, so say good-bye to your lunch break."

Scott's mouth hangs open. Allison stares from across the room with panic on her face before burying her head in her hands.

Great start, Scott.

"Today, I will teach all of you to perform _Petrificus Totalus_. For who doesn't know, this is a full body-bind curse or a body-freezing spell. Used in duelling." Argent looks around the class, his hands behind his back. "And we'll be doing just that."

He instructs the class to memorize the page they're on, understand the spell and its history and how to perform it. He gives them precisely ten minutes (Stiles hasn't even read how to _do_ the spell by this point) and orders the class to split into two groups and stand either end of the room.

With a flick of Argent's wand, the tables and chairs slide across and create a pathway between the two groups.

"Who's first?"

The students gawk at one another before two kids shuffle forward.

Boyd and Erica.

See, Boyd will be just fine. Erica, on the other hand?

She's terrified of everything, including a hairbrush by the looks of it. Stiles can hear her braces chattering together from where he's standing.

Erica's never been a confident person. And Boyd is the complete opposite. It's an in-the-back kind of student against the head of the baseball team.

Stiles knows exactly how this will go.

"What duelling spells have you learnt so far?" Argent stands in the centre of the walkway, looking from one side to another.

"The _Bat-Bogey_ Hex." Boyd answers. " _Expelliarmus_."

"We were taught _Protego_ last year." Scott's voice pipes up from across the room.

Stiles peers at the opposite group and sees Scott's head popping out with a desperate smile on his lips.

Argent simply just stares at him before turning his focus on Boyd and Erica.

Stiles mutters to himself. He needs to teach Scott how to kiss ass properly.

"Your names?" Argent asks the two students.

"Boyd."

"Erica." She answers much more silently, pretty much a whisper.

"Boyd, you will start. I'd like you to perform the freezing spell. And, Erica? I'd like you to deflect it."

Both students nod and the professor steps backwards.

Stiles watches Boyd and Erica step back further to create more space. They both bow and raise their wands.

There's an eery silence for a good fifteen seconds before Boyd jolts his wand towards Erica.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ "

Three strands of ice are drawn out from the tip of Boyd's wand and shoot towards Erica.

Stiles flinches, knowing this will embarrass her even further.

But unexpectedly, her reflexes are on _point_.

" _Protego_!" She yells, aiming her wand towards Boyd's.

Her wand gives out a protective shield that builds around her front. The ice bounces against the shield so quickly, Stiles doesn't even see it revert back towards Boyd.

With a gasp, he's struck and he freezes over. The breath from his gasp turns to fog. His eyes are full of panic as his arms and legs freeze against his body and he eventually falls to the ground with a thud.

Silence hits the room again and this time, it's due to shock.

Did Erica just do... _that?_

" _Very_ well played, Erica." For the first time, Argent's tone is happier. He's impressed. "Not only did you reflect it, but you also back-fired it. Superb."

Argent brings his hands together and his applause bounces around the echoing room, eventually causing the students to join in.

Erica's _glowing_. She even finds the balls to reverse the spell on Boyd and he jumps up, visibly cold, then shakes her hand.

Stiles is very impressed, too. Sometimes people can surprise you.

Sometimes.

****

\- - -

Stiles doesn't really know what to do at lunchtime.

He reluctantly left a sickly-looking Scott in Dark Arts and is now standing in the middle of the lunch hall, kind of feeling like he's lost something.

He hates how much he needs Scott.

"Stiles?" Allison's voice resonates from behind him. "Are we sitting?"

He turns with surprise. He thought she wouldn't sit with him because of Scott's absence. Interesting.

Maybe she actually _likes_ him instead of tolerating him because he and Scott come as one package.

"Y-yeah, sorry. Yep."

They both sit down and as Stiles predicted a split second ago, they fall into an uncomfortable silence.

Ah. Maybe she _does_ tolerate him and is merely being polite.

She clears her throat and grabs the OJ that's floating their way. "You seem lost, Stiles."

He breaks out of his reverie and looks at her with raised eyebrows. "Huh? Oh, no. Not at all."

She smiles as she pours them both a glass of juice. "It's fine to feel like that. It's actually very sweet."

Stiles thanks her and holds onto his glass. "It is?"

Allison nods. "Considering you've known each other for so _long_ , you both have a really amazing bond. As much as you drive each other up the wall, you could never break that bond."

"Huh." Stiles takes a sip of his juice. "Well - when you put it like _that_..."

"Honestly," Allison begins with a laugh. "It's as if my dad has ripped one half of you away for an hour."

"Listen, I can live without Scott." Stiles scoffs, reaching for the floating sandwich tray way too eagerly.

"You can?" Allison raises an eyebrow playfully.

"Sure. I'll start right now." Stiles shrugs, passing Allison the tray after he's picked at the options. "What was Beauxbatons like?"

Allison's shoulders sag and a pure look of happiness rests on her face. "It was incredible. I've never experienced anything like it."

"Really?" Stiles replies, feeling the need to defend his school.

"Oh, yeah." Allison smiles, her expression revealing that she's reminiscing. "It was...different. There was _so_ much more going on, but it wasn't in your face. Like... _that_."

Stiles follows her line of sight and looks up at the ridiculous amount of house flags hanging in the air.

"It's so...patriotic." Allison says, quite obviously preventing herself from rolling her eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'patriotic' but..." Stiles tries to find the words to describe it another way, but Allison is completely right. "But, yeah. Patriotic. This _is_ America."

Allison chuckles. "You can say that again."

"It does piss me off sometimes, how dramatic it all is. Scott loves it."

Stiles senses Allison's eyebrows raise and he looks up to see a smirk on her face as she picks at her sandwiches.

He realises what he has done immediately.

"Not that I care about Scott right now. I don't."

Allison laughs again before wiping around her face with her napkin. "It's been - what, one and a half minutes?"

Stiles sighs and leans back a little, coming to a sudden realisation. "Is this a problem? Is this why we both _suck_ at making friends with anyone?"

Allison frowns. "You have _other_ friends."

"Allison, did you see me back then? I didn't even know where to _sit_ without Scott."

"It's not a bad thing, Stiles. You just...rely on each other. A lot." She munches on a new sandwich. "That's what best friends _do._ "

Stiles' thoughts are swirling around in his mind before it completely clears and something hits him suddenly. "Did you, er, did you have to leave anyone...behind? At Beauxbatons?"

Allison's eyes suddenly cloud over and she seems sad. "Yeah. I did."

Silence settles between them as Stiles tries to think of the right thing to say. "That must suck."

She nods. "It does. But we'll stay in contact. Isaac - he promised he'll write to me every week."

Stiles nods as well, not really knowing what else to say. He's never been good with this kind of stuff. Only with Scott.

God-damn.

Can he really not be his own person without Scott? Is he unable to separate from his best friend?

What is he going to do when they both graduate and get jobs? And they won't see each other as much? What will Stiles do then?

"Come on." Allison orders.

"What?" Stiles watches her stand with a purpose. "What are we doing - ?"

"We're going to make other friends." She answers matter-of-factly.

"Uh - no. No, no, no. I'm fine here. Thanks."

"Get up, Stiles." Allison circles the table and stops at Stiles, pulling him up by his arm.

"Allison, I haven't even finished my sandwiches - "

"We'll bring them with us." She says chirpily.

Damn. She's not letting up.

"Wait - who do we go to?" Stiles argues, balancing his plate of sandwiches with his free hand while Allison pulls on his other arm. She leads him out of the rows of tables and takes a look around.

Stiles dreads... _everything_ when he sees Allison's eyes have come to a decision. She stares at the opposite end of the hall, where the four lounge areas are situated.

Where the _sports_ team hang out.

Allison pulls on his arm again and leads them _exactly_ the opposite of where Stiles wants to be right now.

"What better way to make friends than to sign up for after-school activities, huh?" Allison says with such spirit and positivity, it makes Stiles feel sick.

How does she have the...the _nerve_ to just saunter up to the most intimidating group of students, while _smiling?_

They reach the team way too quickly and the blood in Stiles' head is pumping loudly in his ears.

"Good afternoon! How do we go about signing up to baseball tryouts?" Allison asks the thousands (okay, roughly fifteen) faces that are staring right back at them.

"Allison, I can't play baseball - "

"Oh, and Quidditch! Can't forget Quidditch." Allison adds.

"Uh, Cora?" Boyd's the first to answer. He's perched on the back of one of the sofas so _cooly_. "Where's the sign-up sheet?"

Cora Hale sits right at the back of the group, laying across an armchair with her legs dangling over the side. She's looking Stiles up and down.

And he's just standing there. Resembling a plank of wood. Holding a plate of sandwiches like a complete weirdo.

The dread is growing. Stiles might throw up.

"Are you sure you're up for sports, Stilinski?" She raises a perfect eyebrow at him.

"Stiles?! Of _course_ he is. He's great at baseball." Allison answers for Stiles while linking their arms together.

"Well, in that case..." Danny Māhealani answers with a smile, who's leaning over Cora from the back of the chair. He's in the year above. Stiles is gonna throw at any second. "Sign away."

It feels like a lifetime has passed when the sign-up sheets reach Allison and him. Allison unlinks her arm and squats down to the coffee table's level, scribbling her name down for both sports.

She looks up at Stiles with an encouraging smile, offering him the quill.

He bounces on the heels of his feet for a moment, feeling Liam Dunbar glaring at him from the sofa on the right.

Fuck it.

Stiles takes the quill and signs his name on both sheets.

He adds Scott's name to the Quidditch tryouts and actively ignores Allison's smirk.

"Well..." Allison stands and stares at the sports team. "Thanks, everyone."

"Thank _you_." Brett Talbot nods his head. "Baseball tryouts are during free period tomorrow and the tryouts for Quidditch are after school on Wednesday."

"Amazing! See you then." Allison beams and gives them a little wave before linking her arm back with Stiles' and drags him away.

"I can't believe we just done that."

"Exciting, isn't it, Stiles?" Allison grins at him, stealing a sandwich from the plate still in his grip.

"You just told them I'm a great baseball player." Stiles whispers in disbelief. "Allison, I've never _played_ baseball!"

"There's a first for everything." Allison sighs with happiness. "Alright, what's another fun thing we could do?"

Stiles' mind is swimming. She's so quick. "Your call."

"Oh! I haven't even seen the fifth floor yet - "

"Off-limits to fifth-year and lower." Stiles takes a bite of a sandwich.

"Alright..." Allison diverts their route to the opposite wooden doors. "What about Crystal Lake?!"

Stiles pulls his lips down. "Why not?"

Allison skips giddily towards the exit, still attached to Stiles and he realises she hasn't had the experience of seeing everything yet. He immediately feels bad for not trying harder.

And, hey. She may end up preferring Ilvermorny to Beauxbatons.

He matches Allison's pace and just before they pass the last table, he halts them both and leans over a few seated students to grab a hovering tray of food.

"We're gonna need more sandwiches."

****

**\- - -**

As the bell rings to indicate lunchtime is over, Allison and Stiles are miles away, chatting amongst themselves about their separate school experiences when Stiles catches Scott dragging himself towards them.

"Scott!"

He looks up with defeat and immediately perks up.

"How'd it go?" Allison asks with pity. "I know my dad can be pretty rough."

"It was...interesting." Scott mutters, wiping his face. "I learned a few things about Erklings that I never thought I'd learn. They bite."

Scott holds his left hand up to show a bandage wrapped around his palm and Stiles and Allison grimace.

"And they also eat kids." Scott adds. "What a fun lunch! Your dad doesn't talk much, does he, Allison?"

Allison pulls in her lips in sympathy. "Not really, no."

"I'm sorry you got into trouble, Scotty." Stiles mumbles.

"Hey, it was my fault. For once." He begins to walk with them towards the school fields. "I know now to not piss off Professor Argent."

"A wise decision." Allison adds.

"How was your lunch?"

"It was...interesting." Stiles mirrors his friend's words. "I signed you up to Quidditch tryouts."

"Thanks." Scott beams.

"Stiles and I are going to give baseball a go, too!" Allison adds. "Why don't you join us?"

Scott is too busy gawking at Stiles to give Allison all of his attention. "I'll come and watch - I can't play baseball and - Stiles, what on earth made you sign up for _baseball?_ "

"You have Miss Argent to blame for that." Stiles raises his eyebrows.

"You'll thank me in the long run, Stilinski." She replies with a knowing smile.

"I can't believe I missed this. The sports team's reactions must have been priceless."

"Oh, they were, Scott. Considering I've paid _zero_ interest in any kind of sport since being here - "

"And then _I_ come along and shake it up a bit." Allison interrupts proudly. "This year is going to be different for you, boys. Hold me to that if you'd like."

"We will." Scott laughs.

Eventually, the crowd of students that are heading towards their next class diminish to a handful that are on the same path as them, heading towards their flying lesson on the bottom field.

Professor Hale is already standing there, his arms folded and his stance, well... _Hale_. Stiles reckons that if he asks Allison to point out every Hale family member without knowing who they are, she could. They just have a way about them.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Please stand at your broomsticks."

Stiles looks around for his - he sends his broom to the field before every lesson and every time, Hale moves it to a different spot.

Something about Scott and him standing together that's disrupting. God knows why.

"We're going to mix things up a little this year. You've learned the basics, last year you learned to surf and dive. _This_ year I'll be throwing you in at the deep end." Hale slowly paces back and forth in the centre, not really looking at anyone or anything. Like he could do this lesson with his eyes closed. "You'll be learning how to reverse, how to avoid obstacles while obtaining speed, starfishing and most importantly...threading the needle."

Stiles notices that a couple of the girls are completely swooning after the man. Pathetic.

Sure, he's sculpted like a god. But it's still pathetic.

He catches Scott's line of sight and he's looking right at Allison who is...

God, her mouth is basically hanging open.

Stiles looks around.

Even _Lydia's_ expression has softened.

Damn the Hale's for being so pretty.

"These tricks will benefit anyone who has signed up for the Quidditch World Cup tryouts. I recommend perfecting these if you make it on the team." The professor advises. "Now. Brooms up."

It's second-nature to Stiles now, that he doesn't even have to think about it for his broom to connect with his grip. 

He reminds himself of how nervous he was in his first lesson and how he struggled to get his broom up. Scott was last, obviously and Lydia was first... _obviously._

And now he looks at everyone and how normal this has all become. Stiles has learned so much in the past five years.

He imagines what his life would be like if he was a...a normal boy. Going to a normal school and using normal transport and doing normal _things_ like taking food off of trays that _aren't_ floating and turning the pages of a book with his _fingers_ \- 

"Stilinski. Are you with us?"

"Unfortunately, yes." It comes out so quick. Stiles didn't even get to think twice.

"Still the same sarcastic Stiles from last year, I see." Derek replies, unphased.

"Quite the tongue-twister, that." Stiles points at Professor Hale and winks.

"Stilinski, get on your broom before I deduct thirty points from the Serpents." Derek says nonchalantly.

"You got it." Stiles nods, mounting his broom.

"Alright, class. Time to reverse!" Derek clasps his hands together. "I'd like you all to fly up roughly to where the forest peaks and spread out."

Stiles kicks off from the ground and his broom shoots him up. He can't lie - it feels good to be back in the air.

Hale flies up after them, positioning himself in front of the class.

"Alright. Once you spread out, you're gonna fly straight forward for about ten to fifteen seconds, then I want you to turn and fly in the opposite direction while keeping balance. You've got to turn quickly and as tight as you can. Let's go."

Stiles heads towards the back end of the field, giving himself as much space as possible. He looks around and sees Scott, looking just as eager as he is.

Hale blows his whistle and Stiles speeds off, counting the seconds roughly until he needs to turn. He breaks and steers his broom to the right, trying his utmost best to make the turn clean and tight.

He does it - a little off balance - but he does it.

"Great, Stilinski. Try and focus on your balance this time. And a little tighter than before."

Stiles nods at his professor before giving it another shot. He decides to fly for a few extra seconds to build up speed before spinning in the other direction. Much better.

"Good work, everyone! Let's keep at it - McCall!"

Stiles looks up to see Scott dangling from his broom, his left hand the only thing stopping him from falling.

"I took the turn too quickly." He calls out bleakly as the students begin to laugh. 

Whilst chuckling at his clumsiness, Stiles watches Allison fly just below him and gives him a push to get back up.

"Let's give that a few more tries before we move on." Derek calls out.

Roughly ten minutes pass and Stiles has been in his own little world, flying around and taking in the view before he hears Derek yell out Lydia's name.

"Come back, Lydia! Back away!"

Confusion fills Stiles as he twists to see what's going on.

He watches Lydia hovering by the edge of the forest, staring at the top of the trees.

"Martin, fall back! Don't go near it!" Hale yells, flying towards her.

Scott appears next to Stiles and Allison appears on the other side.

"What's going on?" Stiles mumbles, his eyes straining to see.

"Don't you see that? Between the trees?" Allison breathes.

Stiles cranes his neck so he can gaze past Lydia and then he sees it.

It's some form of black mass, circular shaped. It's spitting out more...black stuff, then sucking it back in. It's acting a bit fucking crazy.

"Is that...?" Scott tenses next to Stiles.

"It's an Obscurus." Allison confirms.

Holy _shit_.

"Move back. Slowly, Lydia." Derek instructs.

She turns slowly, her eyes staying on the mass before she flies towards the students.

"We'll call it a day here." Professor Hale calls out. "Everyone down and back indoors."

No one complains. Everyone silently makes their way down and picks up their brooms before rushing towards the school.

Stiles takes a glance back and watches Derek perform _vermillious_ and in a matter of seconds, the principal and Coach are flying over their heads towards the forest.

"This is crazy." Scott mutters, watching the teachers surround the Obscurus. "How the hell did it get here?"

"And what's it doing here?" Allison adds, turning back every now and then. "It has a purpose, obviously."

"Well - maybe it's a creation from the Calamity?" Scott suggests.

Stiles finds himself falling out of the conversation because he's watching Lydia walking ahead in front, clinging onto her broom with such strength that he expects it to snap in half. She looks all tensed up, her shoulders locked.

She actually looks a little frightened.

****

**\- - -**

Unsure of what the hell to do, Stiles follows Allison and Scott to the dining hall and they take a seat on one of the sofas to the right.

All three of them land with a thump and Stiles leans back and huffs. "Well. That ended abruptly."

"I can't believe there's an Obscurus on school grounds." Allison shakes her head, crossing her legs. "They're so dangerous. Did you see how close it got to Lydia?"

"That could have been so much worse." Scott raises his eyebrows.

"Well, she handled it like a pro." Allison lets out a puff of air through her nose. "I would have freaked _out_."

"I wonder what they're going to do with it?" Stiles thinks out loud. "Maybe there's a secret dungeon that we're unaware of."

"They'll probably transfer it to wherever they keep the other Obscurus'."

"Let me dream, Allison - Scott, you alright?"

Scott's eyes have widened at an alarming rate and he's gaping right above Stiles' head.

He is just about to follow his friend's gaze but he doesn't need to.

All is explained when Lydia sits down next to Stiles.

And she's _smiling_.

"Good afternoon, everyone."

Stiles cannot speak.

Scott's staring at him in shock and Allison is none the wiser so she's smiling right back at Lydia.

"Hi, Lydia!"

"You're Allison, right? The girl who transferred from France?"

Allison smiles with a nod. " _Oui._ "

" _C'est bien j'ai enfin quelqu'un avec qui converser en français_." Lydia speaks.

Allison laughs. " _C'est une excellente façon de parler des gens sans qu'ils le sachent._ "

Lydia lets out a laugh herself. " _Nous allons nous entendre parfaitement_."

Stiles cannot believe this. Scott's eyes look like they're going to pop out of their sockets.

The girls continue to laugh amongst themselves before Lydia leans towards Stiles.

"We've got an issue." She murmurs through a smile. "Meet me in the commons."

Stiles rapidly blinks around a thousand times before gathering himself.

"Well, I just wanted to introduce myself, Allison. It was lovely to meet you." Lydia smiles before standing up and waving good-bye.

"Bye, Lydia." Allison waves after her. She turns to the two boys. "She seems lovely! I thought you said she's a loner?"

"Sh - she _is_." Scott stutters.

Stiles is staring straight at Scott's tie, thinking of the best way to leave the table.

He doesn't.

"Well, I must dash."

Scott glares at him as he gets up. "What? We've just sat down!"

"Yeah." Stiles nods, staring at the two for a good ten seconds. "Bye!"

As he leaves the hall and takes a left towards the Serpent's common room, Stiles dreads to think of the questions Scott will be asking him when he sees him next, as _well_ as freaking out over what kind of issue Lydia thinks they have.

Did the wand explode? Did the wand make something _else_ explode?

Stiles is fully prepared to see the commons engulfed in flames or burnt to the ground when he gets there, but nothing seems to have changed.

He typically comes face to face with a statue of the Horned Serpent. Stiles steps close enough to allow the statue to detect his presence, and the horn of the Serpent shines in response. It slowly moves to the side, the sound dragging across the floor and reveals an entrance that Stiles walks through.

The commons is completely empty apart from Lydia, which shocks Stiles as the principal told everyone to stay indoors. He assumed everyone would be here.

So it's just Lydia, who's sitting on the edge of the fountain that stands proudly right at the end of the room, the water trickling out is the only sound he can hear.

It's peaceful when it's empty, Stiles think as he makes his way across the marble floor towards her.

Lydia has her legs crossed and one foot is incessantly tapping against the floor. She's biting her fingernails while staring down at Stiles' wand.

When she finally sees him approaching, Lydia drops her hand to her lap.

"What's going on?" Stiles finds himself whispering as he stands in front of her.

She holds up a finger towards him before picking up the wand and waving it around. " _Homenum Revelio_."

The spell dances out of the wand and scans the area around them.

Lydia settles a little. "We're alone."

Well, she used the wand. And it hasn't blown up. Whatever it is can't be _that_ bad, right?

Stiles reluctantly takes a seat on the fountain's edge next to Lydia and waits for her to explain.

"The Obscurus." Lydia swallows. "This may sound crazy but...the wand showed me that happening already."

Stiles blinks. _Well_. This is not going how he expected it to.

She doesn't explain any further. She just stares at him with an expression that says he should already understand.

"Lydia," Stiles licks his lips. "You're gonna have to elaborate a little further."

"During free period, I was testing out the wand in my dorm. I thought I'd give the _Revelio_ charm a try - looking back, I'm really not sure _why_ , I just did - and the wand practically... _jumped_ out of my hand and fell to the floor and some sort of..."

Stiles watches her try to explain but she seems to be having an issue. Perhaps because this is the most amount of words she's said to another student since being here.

"...some kind of _projector_ appeared - don't look at me like that - "

"I'm not looking at you like anything - "

" - and it started showing me the forest - and from my point of view, it seems - and it showed me the Obscurus." She finishes, staring just past Stiles as if she's reliving it.

Stiles stares blankly at her, waiting for her to say that she's pulling his arm. But her expression says it all, really.

And this _is_ magic they're dealing with, here. Anything is possible.

"So...so the wand... _showed_ you something from the - the future..."

She nods.

"Well." Stiles raises his eyebrows and has a think. "If anything, Lydia, it's the opposite of a _problem_. It's pretty fucking cool, if you ask me - "

"No, Stiles. It _is_ a problem. Wands shouldn't do... _that._ " Lydia seems in denial.

"Lydia," Stiles softens his voice. "You can't know _everything_."

That gets her. Quite a bit. She winces a little before meeting Stiles' eye with a mix of a scowl and a frown.

"It's a problem, Stiles." She murmurs, looking down at the wand. "I can't tell you why, but I'm getting a little bit of a bad feeling."

"I mean, you came face to face with an _Obscurus_ , so I don't blame you for having an uneasy feeling right now." Stiles tilts his head.

She peers at him. "You don't believe me."

Stiles' stomach twists. "I'm not saying that - "

"You are." Lydia stands. "That's fine. Your opinion literally makes no difference whatsoever."

 _Ouch_.

"Lovely." Stiles bites, watching her head towards the doors, her little heels clicking against the marble.

Stiles is wondering how on _earth_ this conversation went south when the statue moves from across the door and Theo appears, stopping Lydia in her tracks.

His eyes scrutinize her for a second, before tilting his body to stare at Stiles. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Oh, Theo." Lydia rests a hand on his shoulder. "You're not that important."

She vanishes from the room, leaving Theo simmering and Stiles just as confused as he was before.

**\- - -**

Considering it's the first day of the school year, man has it _dragged_.

Stiles makes his way back to the commons after the final lesson to shower and change out of his robes before the evening ceremony begins.

This is his favourite part.

Allison's right - Ilvermorny is extremely patriot and... _American_ and the evening ceremony is ten times worse. But it's so _good_.

After Stiles changes into his evening attire and leaves his dorm (messy, as always) he's thinking about what kind of firework display they'll put on this year. He's picturing dragons and pixies and everything you imagine a magical display to be and - 

Oh. He's walking beside Lydia. In the same direction. This isn't awkward at all.

"Lydia." He decides to say with a nod. He doesn't know why.

"Stilinski." She replies surprisingly. Stiles was expecting no response at all.

He looks at her properly, noticing she's all dressed up, too.

She's wearing a new pair of heels (he dreads to think how many she has stashed in her dorm) and a pair of black bottoms and a dark green blouse to match. Her hair is down and - it's gotten so _long_ \- she's plaited the side so it flows to the back of her head and Stiles is _really_ staring and he needs to stop.

Immediately.

He clears his throat as the Serpent moves out of the way for them and as they step into the halls, Liam appears on the other side of him.

"I gotta say, Stiles. I was shocked when you signed up for baseball tryouts. I didn't peg you as the sporty type."

"You barely know me." Stiles rolls his eyes. Lydia's still walking beside him for some reason.

"I'm a good judge of character." Liam replies proudly.

"Oh, really?" Stiles turns his upper body towards the kid after realising this a great opportunity to mess with him. "Hey, Liam, you know Hayden? Romero?"

Liam nods. "Yeah?"

"Well, Allison overheard her talking to her friends. Apparently, she likes you!"

Liam almost trips over his own feet. "What? Really?"

"Yeah. You should ask her out tonight, she'd love that." Stiles pushes.

"Huh." Liam has a moment to himself before he stands taller. "Maybe I will."

Stiles slaps his back. "'Atta boy."

As he watches the fourth-year practically skip away, he can't help but grin to himself.

And to his absolute shock, Lydia snickers.

Stiles has to do a double-take, but it's there. A coy smile.

"That was evil."

"Yeah, well. He's a pain in my ass." Stiles mutters.

"So...baseball, huh?" Lydia looks ahead.

Stiles' heart flutters. Is she making... _conversation?_

"Yeah." He laughs. "Allison made me sign up."

"Huh." Lydia pulls her jacket over her shoulders as they reach the end of the hall. "I might just come along and watch."

Stiles stops in his tracks, luckily where the hall ends. He looks at Lydia, trying to hide his shock.

There's a silence after she stops, too. She's rearranging her collar and untucking her hair before Stiles decides to speak.

"I'll see you there, then."

She shoots him a small smile before walking in the opposite direction.

Stiles doesn't know whether she's got bipolar or that was her way of apologising for being a little rude to him earlier, but he doesn't care.

He really doesn't care.

He spends the entirety of the ceremony thinking about that moment, about the way she smiled at him. Lydia has smiled so many times today.

The image stays in Stiles' mind as he watches the fireworks. He doesn't even notice the new additions added. But he doesn't mind.

He's warm and happy and he, Stiles and Allison eventually join a handful of others in the Astronomy tower for an after-party. They smuggle in drink and get fairly tipsy and Stiles knows he's quite drunk because he's smiling while watching Scott look through the gigantic telescope in the centre of the tower with Allison and they're giggling.

Stiles _is_ going to thank Allison at one point for pushing him to do something completely out of his comfort zone, because Cora and Danny spent most of the night with him, getting to know him, and Stiles getting to know them.

He's made new friends because of her, and Scott's the happiest Stiles has seen in quite some time. The happiest _ever_ , perhaps.

Stiles thinks her and Scott are onto something about this year...it's definitely changed. But he will continue to hold that to her.

Just in case.


End file.
